Mass Effect
Bulma Review Mass Effect is the 1st in a trilogy of games by Bioware. They are the powerhouse behind the Knights of the Old Republic series as well as popular RPG games such as Neverwinter Nights. Mass Effect promised alot and in my opinion it'll delivered and then some. The 1st thing you have to do when you begin this game is to choose what your character *insert name* Shepard will look like. You can customize to yor hearts content every little facial detail and choose your gender as well. Or if you're feeling lazy and simply want to jump into the game you can simply pick a pre customise character. You are Commander Shepard and live in an age where mankind has been thrust into the future of technology thanks to an archoelogical find of a lifetime on the planet Mars. You have been sent to aquired newly discovered and possibly devastating Protheon ruins and eventually realise that your quest expands to hunting down the manical Saren and trying to save the entire Universe from an invasion of unknown forces. The story is fluid and keeps the character interested, as do the subplots, which are optional, but completely worth participating in for the pure enjoyment of the game. You'll visit many planets and encounter many different races, some who welcome humanity to their special 'inter galactic gang' and some who don't quite trust human motives or believe they deserve to take a position on the Council. So apart from chasing multiple bad guys and saving the universe, you expected to try and plead humanities case. Even when you've done something amazing and helped so many there are still those that aren't willing to fully trust the human race. However this is part of the political drama of Mass Effect and is appreciated. If we saved a colony on a small planet and then suddenly the galaxy of races and the Council accepted humanity and Shepard as a paragon (this word is a key factor in the game) of humanity, then well...it'd be boring and cliché. You command a ship called the Normandy and later on are given full control of it. You have an active and cool supporting crew/cast. Your active crew, as in your team mates, each have their own interesting backstory and reasons for being on the Normandy. They also give way to new side quests, as well as possible romantic options for some. The only downfall of this game is that you can't switch between your party members. You can customize them though the same way you would Shepard. But I rarely found that to be too much of a negative whilst playing the game. Bioware are good at distractions. Some may notice that some characters from this game have appeared in other Bioware titles.(as well as other games). I loved this game and it has a great replay value to it. I'm extremely excited about the upcoming games, though I know it'll be a while before the 2nd installment comes out. The game lets you roam a massive universe, though a lot of the planets you visit, that aren't part of the bigger story, have certain aspects that seem repetitive. The Mako vechile is simply to drive and can move about almost any terrain, it can also survive the longest fall. It's fun ramming off mountains and crashing down, then toddling onwards. It has a machine gun and a missle launcher that never runs out of ammo. And will take down any enemies you come across after a few shots, apart from that there's not much to boast about this machine. It's durable, but when fired upon can be damaged and you have repair kits that will restore it's 'health'. The graphics are splendid, the characters are lovable or hatable...but you'll enjoy hating those and the music score is superb. The facial expressions and the appearance of characters, right down to their sweaty skin pores (ewww I know) is also brilliantly detailed. There are similarities to KOTOR, dialogue system, the voice acting, the decisions, but Mass Effect still stands on it's own. The combat system is just ace! You can use funky powers (that do resemble some Kotor ones like Lift) using biotics. You have different classes that effect how you can use weapons. They are as follow: Engineers, Infiltrators, and Sentinels and then Vanguards is a collaboration of the aspects from all. Oh and you can be in a lesbian relationship if you want. I think gay men were in tears when this was announced, but cheer up...Mass Effect 2 might of heard your cries. The dialogue option is very cool as well. You have a nice selection, that can come across as nice, intimidating or indifferent, the response from other characters when they interject is also great. If a NPC is talking and you choose your response before he/she/it is finished then Shepard responds straight after the NPC shuts up...um stops speaking. It just adds to the realism and fluidity of the gameplay. IMO this game is one of many good reasons to invest in an Xbox 360, in case your PC can't handle everything. 5/5